This invention relates generally to a soil engaging and working apparatus and is particularly directed to apparatus for forming a ditch.
Water control is important in various environments such as building construction and agriculture. In the former, incorporation of suitable drainage ditches in landscape layout provides protection against flooding, while in the latter environment it is frequently necessary to drain excess water from wetlands and allow water to flow into arid soil. One commonly used method for forming a drainage or irrigation ditch is by means of a soil grader having a single elongated blade moved generally along its length while engaging the surface of the soil. This approach results in the form of a single ridge on one side of the ditch which prevents water on that side of the ditch from flowing into the ditch. Other ditch forming devices are adapted for pulling by a tractor and include a rotating cutter head coupled by suitable drive shaft linkage to the power takeoff (PTO) unit of the tractor. As the power ditcher is pulled by the tractor with its rotating cutter head positioned within the soil, the cutter blades engage and displace the soil upward in forming a ditch. Such power ditchers are complicated, expensive, difficult to maneuver and subject to damage upon impact with a rock. The design of the cutter head is such that upon impact with a rock it is not readily deflected thus generally requiring removal and replacement of one or more of its cutting blades. This takes time and is expensive.
The present invention overcomes the aforementioned limitations of the prior art by providing a ditch forming apparatus which is inexpensive, lightweight and highly maneuverable, includes a minimum number of moving parts, and is adapted for easy mounting and adjustable operation on the aft portion of a traction vehicle.